


The Pretty Lies, The Ugly Truth

by chronicAngel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Mild Hurt/Comfort, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 07:31:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15791910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: She looks over at Chat and her heart breaks because he wears the familiar expression of someone whose world has just been turned upside down, but they pretend that the blood is not rushing to their head and depriving their brain of proper oxygen because they want to be strong for someone they care about.





	The Pretty Lies, The Ugly Truth

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just going to assume ahead of time that this won't be canon-compliant.

_Le Papillon is Gabriel Agreste_.

She stares in horror at the man across from her who has just detransformed, the string of her yo-yo trapping his arms against his sides while Chat holds his Miraculous. It's a small brooch that fits in the palm of his hand and she wonders where he hides it. _Probably beneath that tie of his_ _, but that's not important_ , she mentally scolds herself. She forces herself into motion, taking a step forward. She's not sure whether she's moving toward Gabriel Agreste (she doesn't even know what she's supposed to do; she had never envisioned herself physically capturing Le Papillon) or toward Chat Noir.

She looks over at Chat and her heart breaks because he wears the familiar expression of someone whose world has just been turned upside down, but they pretend that the blood is not rushing to their head and depriving their brain of proper oxygen because they want to be strong for someone they care about. She knows that it is her. He is being strong because of her.

"Chat," she starts, though she isn't sure what she actually wants to say. He looks at her and he wears an expression that shoots right through her heart, as though he is waiting for directions, something he can force his brain to latch onto other than the identity of the villain they have been fighting for years. "Let's..."

She looks between the two of them again. Something about M. Agreste's face seems almost... sad. She doesn't want to think too much about it. "Let's go," she says, voice firm. Like her partner, she's trying to force herself not to care about the issue. Ladybug has no reason to be emotionally impacted by Le Papillon's identity. Ladybug has no reason to freak out over whether or not his 15-year-old son knows, or what's going to happen to him once whatever local authority has to make a decision finally does. _Adrien_... She thinks painfully, and then shakes her head. _Marinette can talk to Adrien later. Right now, Chat Noir needs Ladybug_.

With a final glance at Gabriel and a nod to Chat, she turns and steps onto the octagonal panel on the ground and waits for her partner to follow her. He does, after a long minute of simply staring between M. Agreste and the brooch in his hand, and then it lowers the two of them into the Agreste mansion proper. Chat does not make a witty comment about the situation next to her like he normally would, and she does not go to check immediately on Adrien like she normally would. They both go through the nearest window.

She doesn't know where they are going. She doesn't think about it, swinging from rooftop to rooftop with a yo-yo string and a lost kitten trailing after her. When she eventually has the capacity to register the scenery, she finds that they are on the rooftop of _Le Grand Paris_ and decides to stop. Chat immediately stops with her. They sit on the edge of the rooftop and do not say a word for a long moment.

"Are you okay?" She asks, unsure what else to say. Something about Chat has seemed off since Le Papillon's mask came off (along with the rest of his suit) and she doesn't know what it is or how to fix it. She does not like how helpless it leaves her feeling. It seems as though he doesn't even hear her, staring at pigeons on a rooftop across the street. "It's okay if you're not," she tries, still doing her best to prompt him to talk to her. "I don't... I don't know what's wrong, or how to fix it, but sometimes there's no way to fix it and you just have to feel like that for a while, and that's alright. I mean... this is different from just capturing an akuma. This is like, a permanent shift to our lifestyles. What are we even going to do now that--"

"M'lady, can you stop talking for a minute?" He says, so softly that she snaps her mouth shut simply so she can be sure she actually hears him. It takes a second for the words to register, and then she deflates a little and nods. This is not the Chat she is familiar with. She does not know how to operate with him, so she decides not to for a little while. She will let him figure it out by himself, if that's what he needs. "Do you ever..." He starts, and then shakes his head and abandons this train of thought. She simply takes a deep breath and waits patiently for him to articulate whatever it is that is running through his head.

There is a familiar beeping in her ear that tells her it will be time to go soon, but she doesn't want to leave him here alone. She thinks that the worst thing that can happen at this point is finding out one more identity in an evening. "...Do you really think we won't have anything to do now that we've caught Le Papillon? As Chat Noir and Ladybug?" He seems genuinely afraid, and she releases a little breath that this is what he is worrying about. _It must be easier for him, not knowing Gabriel Agreste_ , she thinks. _Or, knowing his son, I guess_ , she corrects herself.

"I don't know," she answers honestly. Their whole career started because of the akumas. She does not know what Ladybug and Chat Noir do when they're not fighting akumas, other than patrols. Is that what their lives as superheroes are being limited to now? "Is that really so bad?" She asks aloud, mostly to herself.

"I guess not," he says, but he doesn't sound very sure of the answer. After a moment, he adds, clearly hesitant, "I don't know what to do without this." Then, softer, "Without you. Us." She bites her lip. This is a conversation she has managed to avoid having in their two years as partners, for the most part. She supposes they should have it, now.

"What does 'us' mean to you, Chaton?" She uses the fonder nickname because she likes the way he usually perks up just slightly when he hears it.

In contrast, his shoulders sag after she says it, as though some huge burden has just been placed on his shoulders. "You know how I feel, Bug." She does. Somehow, she feels selfish for asking him to talk about it now.

She leans her head against his shoulder. He hardly reacts. "What would you do if you couldn't be Chat Noir anymore?" She asks, then amends, "And I wasn't Ladybug."

He it quiet for a long moment, and she suspects he won't answer at all. "My civilian life is kind of packed, honestly. I'm not sure I'd have time to do something else. I don't really have time to be Chat Noir," he confesses. She's heard little details about his personal life, but it's the sort of thing that they largely avoid talking about. "I'd like to think that I'd still be in love with you without the masks. That we'd find each other." He pauses and lifts his head, and she hadn't even noticed that he'd finally rested his head against hers until he was pulling it away. "Are other people Ladybug and Chat Noir in this scenario, or are there no heroes at all?"

"I didn't think that much about it," she confesses. "I guess... there has to be heroes, right? Because without the heroes, the akumatized villains would all still be out there..." She does not want to think about this anymore, but she started it so she supposes it's only fair to finish it. "Well, I guess not. All Le Papillon wanted was our Miraculouses. If we weren't around, he wouldn't have a reason to..." She trails off, furrowing her brows. "Does that mean all of this is our fault?"

Usually, she is the optimist. She can see on Chat's face that he doesn't quite know how to answer her. They fall into an uncomfortable silence.

"...We're going to detransform soon," he says, changing the subject when the quiet has stretched on too long.

She stares at where the sun has started to set. It's too early in the day to be out of things to do as Ladybug and Chat Noir. (A part of her brain registers that this could be the end of them having real things to do as Ladybug and Chat Noir. What would they even have to patrol for, once Le Papillon is punished for his crimes? She's not sure what crimes he has actually committed, but she's sure they're punishable by law, whatever they are.) "Yeah," she says, feeling very far away.

He does not move to stand, so she doesn't either. _Chat Noir is going to know my alter ego_ , she thinks, and the words "alter ego" make her feel like a comic book character even as she knows that's what it is, really. _I'm going to know Chat Noir's alter ego_ , she realizes, and this is much scarier. What if she knows him? What if she doesn't? What if she has been fighting alongside a total stranger for years?

 _That's ridiculous_ , she scolds herself. She knows Chat Noir better than practically anyone else in her life. Better than Nino, or Adrien, or even Alya. Chat Noir is an old, familiar map that she has been studying practically every day for two years. She knows all of his abandoned ruins and hidden treasures. _Well, all of them except one_ , she thinks, eyes sliding to his mask. As though he can feel her staring at him, he glances over at her and offers her a weak sort of smile.

Hers happens first. There's a familiar tingling feeling all over her body and then she looks at her hands and her suit is gone.

He stares at her. She can imagine his jaw dropping even as his only visible reaction is a widening of his eyes. "Marinette?" He chokes after a minute, and she supposes that means he knows her. _Not necessarily, though_ , she reminds herself. _I've interacted with Chat outside of my suit, when Nathaniel was akumatized and on my birthday and that night on my balcony before the Glaciator_.

"...Yeah," she says, slowly, trying not to wince. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. Or, well, no, I'm not! But I am. I don't know. It feels like I lied to you, but it was important that our identities remained secret, even when you were Chat interacting with Marinette. Do you understand?" She says, grimacing even as she finishes it. She doesn't usually trip over her words that much unless she's talking to Adrien.

"Relax. I get it," he says, though he doesn't sound completely sure about that answer. Then his eyes widen slightly, and he stares at her for a second. "So you know Le Papillon too, then. Or, you know Gabriel Agreste, I mean." After a second, he adds, even louder and like a bunch of things are just clicking into place for him, "And this is why you took that book!" She doesn't know how Chat would have heard about that, but nods anyway. He lets out a long breath as though trying to breathe out the headache this knowledge has surely given him and stares at his feet, swinging off the edge of the building.

It's another minute before he goes back to normal, and neither of them says anything for that minute. She supposes it is probably the anticipation, knowing that she is about to find out his secret identity.

She throws her hands over her eyes and closes them on instinct when his costume starts to fade away. _I shouldn't know_ , she thinks, even as he has now seen her in all of her (truly very little) civilian glory. "Marinette," he says, halfway sounding like he's scolding her, and she feels him take her hands and pull them away from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she blinks her eyes open to find his face only a few inches away from hers. Her eyes flick over his features-- the brightest green eyes she's ever seen, a small nose, lips that look unfairly kissable. She blushes and jumps back what must be half a foot.

"Adrien!" She squeaks, then throws her hands over her traitorous mouth. Just because he knows now that they are the same person does not mean she is not Ladybug, which means she should present a dignified persona in front of Chat Noir no matter who his alter ego is. She closes her eyes again and takes a deep breath to collect her thoughts. _He's still Chat. Him being... Adrien... doesn't change anything. Well, except_... Her eyes snap open and she stares at him in horror. With only a second of hesitation, she steps forward and wraps her arms tightly around him. "You must be so upset..."

He hesitates for a moment, his arms hovering awkwardly in the air by her sides, and she suspects his brain is doing the same reboot hers would if Adrien was hugging her so suddenly, if somewhat in reverse. Then, as though he hadn't hesitated at all, he hugs her back and buries his face in her hair. She doesn't know when he got so much taller than her; she'd have sworn Chat was within an inch or two of her only hours ago, even as she's been noticing all too often how much taller Adrien's gotten lately.

"Le Papillon is your _dad_ ," she says, as though he somehow hadn't realized this. "How are you... how are you _dealing_ with that? I mean, you seem so calm. Well, relatively calm, I guess. I'm sure you're freaking out inside but you're not even showing it. If _my_ dad was Le Papillon I'd... I don't know what, I'd just--"

"Marinette, can you stop talking for a minute?" He says, and she can hear the smile in his voice.

Her cheeks only flush a little bit as she snaps her mouth closed. A tiny bit. Barely a blush at all, really. She is tempted to say sorry, but forces herself to keep her mouth closed before more word vomit comes out.

They stand there for a long time, hugging each other tightly on the roof of _Le Grand Paris_ without saying anything at all. The sun has long gone down by the time either of them finally lets go.

He does not look like he is on the verge of tears when they separate, though she thinks that he should. She does not understand the way he can keep it all together the way he is. She thinks one of her parents being Le Papillon is, ironically, the sort of negative emotional impact she would need to be akumatized. Adrien, though, just looks tired. It looks less like he has just discovered his father is the same villain they have been fighting for years now and more like he hasn't slept in a week-- still unhealthy and horrible for him, but a whole other brand of unhealthy and horrible. "Do you want to come over for some croissants? My parents always bake too many in the afternoons. It might make you feel better," she offers, and she does not even feel shy. It is not a date. She's helping a friend. He nods, giving her a small smile. She almost sighs in relief.


End file.
